Trump admin backs off idea to force SNAP users to reapply

[EuterpeThelo]

3. Back in the 90s, I was on what is now called SNAP and TANF

...while I was working at a big chain bookstore earning my way through college.

You wouldn't believe how detailed and invasive those monthly questionnaires can be. I used to joke it was like "what bra and shoe size do you wear, at what age did you lose your virginity and open your first bank account, how many calories did you eat yesterday, what are you THINKING ABOUT right now?"

Meanwhile, they'd switch my caseworker more often than I could change underwear, and even though I ALWAYS submitted my forms on time, I'd VERY often have to spend my ENTIRE 15 minute break at work on the phone -- in the breakroom - in front of my co-workers - calling to ask why my check hadn't come...and hadn't come...and hadn't come. Sometimes that 15 minutes wasn't even enough to get through to anyone. And then they'd ding me and threaten to cut off my aid for not showing up for the "resume writing workshop" at 2pm on a Wednesday - when I had BOTH work and school. Eventually, I demanded AND received a written apology from the head of welfare in our county for the way my case was handled. I can only imagine how much worse it's gotten since then.

(Note I was still having to pay for childcare, which cost a LOT more than the $123 I earned a WEEK after taxes not counting meager school grants. Goddess bless the family daycare we used, because their patience saved us. They really understood it took a village. They're retired now and my daughter's in her 30s, but we STILL stop by to visit them whenever we're up in the Bay Area).